


Disagreement

by Joking611



Series: Cari'ssi'mi Drabbles [17]
Category: Mass Effect Trilogy
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-13
Updated: 2017-08-13
Packaged: 2018-12-14 16:49:29
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,302
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11787333
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Joking611/pseuds/Joking611
Summary: Miranda has a solution for the asari problem.





	Disagreement

**Author's Note:**

> Challenge Yourself: A Month Of Fanfiction 2017
> 
> Wednesday 8/9's prompt: An argument

The ship was deserted. Close enough, at any rate. Moreau was aboard, but he was asleep. The man could sleep twenty hours straight, and then top it off with a nap. He had absolutely no interest in goings on when the ship wasn’t in flight.

That was fine with Miranda. She sought neither conversation nor comfort. She was here to do a job, a job that was becoming more frustrating by the day. There was always one more delay, one more “this won’t take long” distraction. There wasn’t a great deal she could do about most of them, not while she was at least ostensibly under Shepard’s command. This one however, this was a delay that she could deal with. That she would deal with.

She stepped in to the conference room, waiting while the table sank into the floor, revealing the holoprojection system beneath. She’s wanted to have this conversation sooner, but the Normandy’s design allowed for access to the comm room only through the armory or the lab. That’s why she’d had to wait for the crew to go ashore.

She stepped into the transmission circle, and waited for the connection to be made. The Illusive Man was watching her even now, she knew. The fact did not bother her. She was aware of many surveillance devices aboard the ship, and was not naive enough to believe that she was aware of them all. Still, no reason to appear unaware. At exactly the time of the scheduled call, she looked up at the camera that she knew was hidden in the corner of the conference room. She could almost hear The Illusive Man’s chuckle as he would take a deep draw from his cigarette, crush it out, and then, just on the exhale, he would activate his end of the connection. Right about…

“Miss Lawson.”

“Illusive Man.” Miranda stepped to the forward edge of the transmission circle, getting as close to his image as the technology would allow. “There has been an unacceptable amount of interference, and it is impeding mission progression.”

The Illusive Man regarded her calmly, finally prompting with “Go on.”

 _‘Good, he’s not dismissing the issue out of hand,’_ she thought. That was one problem with working for someone who was usually right, and had access to far more data than was available in the field. An operative might find herself working from incomplete or incorrect information. It had happened more than once with Project Lazarus. Technically that project was complete and this was a reassignment, but she still considered the collector mission to be a component of her original objective.

“The Normandy is docked at Nos Astra,” she paused, waiting to be told this was all part of some grand plan.

Instead he simply nodded. “I am aware of the ship’s position. I hope Miranda, that you are not simply calling with an update on your location. The automated systems are more than sufficient to provide me with all the information I require about the goings on aboard the Normandy.” A not-so-subtle reminder about the surveillance systems, that.

“No sir. However, this is the third time that Shepard has returned us to Illium.” Time to stop beating around the bush, not that he probably didn’t have a good idea where she was going. “The third time that Shepard has returned to Illium to attempt to enlist the asari in her mission.”

“This is not surprising,” he paused as he lit another cigarette. “We are both aware of Shepard’s ties to Dr. T’Soni, and that these visits are not solely for potential benefit to the mission. When Shepard received no satisfaction on Thessia, it was inevitable that she try to engage Dr. T’Soni directly.”

“The asari is a distraction,” she contended. “She may have been useful to us in the past, but that usefulness is gone.”

“Perhaps,” he conceded.

“I have agents on Illium,” stated Miranda flatly. “Request permission to eliminate the asari and get Shepard back on track.”

“Denied,” he replied in a voice devoid of emotion, as he took another draw from his cigarette.

“It will be no issue to…” she paused. “Denied?” She hadn’t expected that.

“Denied,” he repeated. “No harm is to come to Dr. T’Soni.”

“But,” she knew that she was coming dangerously close to insubordination, but the ramification of Shepard’s obsession with the asari seemed clear. “Shepard is spending more time trying to make up with the asari than she is on finding the collectors. If the asari is no longer a distraction…” She trailed off as The Illusive Man started shaking his head.

“If Shepard were to suspect that we took action against Dr. T’Soni, we’d lose her.”

“Sir, might I remind you that I requested a control chip be placed,” she trailed off when the look on The Illusive Man’s face told her that he wasn’t finished.

“As I was saying, we’d lose her. That would be true if we were the responsible party or not. Shepard has no reason to trust us, and if something happens to Dr. T’Soni, no amount of rationalization would allow her to remain with Cerberus.”

“The crew and I are prepared for that contingency, sir.”

“No you’re not. The crew is already swinging in her direction. Current projections indicate that if Shepard were to go rogue, Cerberus would have less than a forty percent chance of containing the situation and retaining control of the ship.”

“Why have I not seen these projections? Whose loyalty is in question? I need…”

“What you need is to remained focused on Shepard, as you have been,” he interrupted. “It was always anticipated that Shepard would leave Cerberus and take the Normandy with her. It is preferable that she do so after the mission is completed. Understood?”

“Of course, sir.” She tried to convince herself that he couldn’t see the anger in her eyes.

He leaned back in his chair, taking on the “let me explain this to you” mode that she always found so insulting, even from him. “Cerberus has extensive resources Miss Lawson, but they are not unlimited, nor is this project the only one currently underway.”

 _‘Miss Lawson again,’_ she thought. He’s annoyed. Not a good sign.

“Shepard, on the other hand, has access to resources that are far in excess of even our own. If she were to avail herself of them, it would provide significant relief to Cerberus.” He paused for his cigarette. “However, there were two items that prevented her from doing so.” He peered intently at Miranda. “The first, obviously, was that she was dead. You fixed that. Cerberus provided her with a ship and a crew to influence the direction she’d take once the minor problem of her resurrection was overcome.”

 _‘Not that minor a bloody problem,’_ she thought.

“The second item is that her connection to those resources are through her family. Her _asari_ family. A family that her particular brand of honor will not allow her to feel comfortable with until she is able to regain the affections of Dr. T’Soni.” He paused for that to sink in.

“Fortunately for all concerned, I have some idea as to what will assist Shepard in regaining the doctor’s devotion. I will be sending some information to you at the appropriate time, and you will act on it as instructed.”

“Of course, sir.” All emotion was gone from her face as she turned to go.

“Oh, and Miranda?” He called before she stepped out of the transmission circle.

“Yes?” She kept her back turned towards him.

“You might want to pay more attention to your messages. It seems you have business on Illium as well. _Personal_ business. You should attend to it before it becomes a distraction.” The sarcasm was obvious. He disconnected.

 _‘Dammit,’_ she thought as she opened her omni-tool.


End file.
